Often, changing leadership behaviours requires addressing underlying mindsets. These are not easily changed in a course setting.
This explains why many training programs fail to create sustained behavior change. Participants leave with a workbook and the best of intentions to start applying what they learned. But it ends up getting buried under important paperwork or forgotten completely.
1. They’re One-Size-Fits-All
Leadership training should be tailored to the specific needs of your employees and the type of roles they have within the organization, says Leadership For Good Academy. Whether they are new leaders, upper management or executive officers, each group requires different skills and has its own leadership challenges. This is especially true when it comes to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) issues. Having a one-size-fits-all leadership development program is not going to be successful for people who work across generations, cultures, traditions and other factors that can impact how they hear, respond and accept information.
Leadership programs can also be at risk of losing their relevance if the participants don’t see how they are applicable in the workplace. This is particularly common when there is a lack of buy-in from top leadership to champion and reinforce the training, or when the culture doesn’t support the behaviors that are taught in the program.
The lack of relevance can also be exacerbated by the fact that it’s easy for leadership training to get pushed to the side when organizational priorities shift. This is especially true if the training itself doesn’t have enough practical applications and activities, or it uses hypothetical situations for team building and problem solving that don’t accurately reflect any real-life scenarios that people would likely encounter in their positions.
In addition, it’s important to consider the different learning styles of your employees. Some people learn better through on-the-job experiences, while others thrive in a more formal learning environment such as courses. Providing a variety of training methods to cater to these preferences can help to ensure that your leaders are engaged and more likely to retain what they’ve learned.
Finally, it’s important to remember that leadership training can only be effective if the underlying problems are addressed first. This may include toxic leadership, a disengaged workforce or a company culture that puts numbers before people. If these aren’t dealt with, it will be impossible for the leadership training to make a difference. In this case, the training itself may not be the problem; it could simply be that the company is in need of some basic leadership overhaul.
2. They’re Too Short
Leaders are a valuable asset to the success of any business, which is why most organizations invest in leadership training programs. These programs help to promote productivity and employee engagement, foster innovation, and drive business growth. Yet, too often, leadership training fails to deliver the expected benefits. It is important to understand what causes leadership training to fail and how to avoid these pitfalls.
One of the main reasons why leadership training fails is because it isn’t accompanied by a system that drives sustained behavior change. Too many leadership development programs focus solely on the training itself and stop there, leaving a “knowing-doing gap.” This gap refers to the difference between what leaders know they should do and what they actually do.
Another reason why leadership training can fail is that it’s not well-designed. If the leadership training is boring, draining, or puts leaders to sleep, it won’t engage them and they will not take it seriously.
Additionally, if the program doesn’t match the leader’s needs or context, it will also fail to deliver the desired results. This is often because leaders don’t see the relevance of the training to their own work and personal lives, or they have the wrong mindset about it.
In order for leadership development to succeed, it must have a clear purpose and alignment with business goals, be tailored to specific leader populations, and include ongoing support for sustainable behavior change. To avoid these common leadership training mistakes, consider what challenges your organization is facing and how leadership development can help address them. This will enable you to develop a strategy that will provide real-world impact and long-term value for your business. For example, you might incorporate leadership development into your existing learning and development (L&D) program or partner with a trusted provider to offer the right mix of face-to-face and virtual sessions, cohort-based learning, and self-assessments. You could even create a customized virtual learning platform to meet your business’s ongoing learning and support needs. This approach will ensure that your investment in leadership development pays off.
3. They’re Too Intense
For leadership development programs to be effective, they need to be both engaging and relevant. If a training program is boring, participants will quickly lose interest. Likewise, if the training is too intense or overly focused on specific skills, it will fail to provide the value that your organisation needs.
Leadership training programs must be able to transfer learning from the classroom into workplace behaviour. Unfortunately, many leadership courses fall short of this goal. A lack of clear strategic direction, inconsistent or conflicting management priorities and a mindset that prevents behavioural change all contribute to this failure.
Another problem is that leadership training often focuses on the wrong people. Rather than selecting employees with the best performance records or subject-matter expertise, companies should consider which employees exhibit leadership traits and are willing to take on leadership roles. This can help them identify the key candidates for the next wave of leadership development programs.
While leadership training can be a powerful tool to drive business growth, if it doesn’t deliver desired results, it can cause more harm than good. A lack of leadership means fewer innovative ideas, lower employee morale and reduced company flexibility. It also robs organisations of the advantage they need to thrive in a fast-changing business environment.
Fortunately, there are some simple solutions to these problems. By identifying the issues and taking action, leaders can ensure that their leadership training programs deliver an impressive ROI.
By implementing a combination of these strategies, organisations can create an effective leadership development program that will have a positive impact on their bottom line and cultivate the talent necessary to achieve sustainable business success. The future of your organisation depends on it.
4. They’re Too Long
If your leadership training isn’t producing the results you want, it may be time to tweak the program. First, make sure you’ve followed through on all the basics — reinforcing training, making it a priority, and setting clear goals. Next, consider if the content itself is to blame. Leadership development is a process of transformation that is both intense and long-term. It requires a deep understanding of the participants’ current strengths, weaknesses, and motivations. It also demands that the program be able to adapt quickly in response to changing circumstances.
Leadership programs that are too rigid or inflexible will not have the flexibility to meet these challenges and produce successful outcomes. Similarly, training that focuses on the “what” but doesn’t address the “how” will fail to deliver meaningful and sustainable change. This can happen when leadership programs don’t begin with an in-depth needs analysis of the participants and their goals. Instead, they often start with a list of generic leadership competencies that sound good but aren’t necessarily aligned to the participant’s needs or business objectives.
Moreover, many leadership courses are passive learning environments that involve little to no interaction or participation. This type of training may feel exciting, but it isn’t a way to create lasting changes in your leadership skills. Instead, you need to focus on interactive and experiential learning that allows you to practice your new skills and receive feedback.
Another common problem is that leadership training doesn’t include any real-life scenarios. For example, many leadership courses use hypothetical situations for team building or problem-solving activities that don’t accurately reflect the kinds of challenges that leaders are likely to face in their roles.
The shift to remote and hybrid work has added new challenges for leaders and has necessitated the need for flexible leadership training that can adapt rapidly in response to changing circumstances. Many of these challenges require new leadership skills, such as the ability to foster trust and accountability in remote teams. Unfortunately, if these skills aren’t taught in the right training, they will not be learned on their own by the leader’s team members and will be missing from the team culture.
